


A Purrfect Guest (NSFW Version)

by drhicks76



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Awkward First Times, F/F, Female Ejaculation, First Meetings, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Sex Positive, Sloppy Makeouts, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 13:11:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2694308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drhicks76/pseuds/drhicks76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my contribution to the Nepeta November challenge on Tumblr!  This is a bit of a crackship/rarepair piece inspired by a friend of mine, shipping Nepeta with Kanaya; I did my very best to make it plausible in canon somehow and set it pre-SGRUB.  This is the long version and while it gets decidedly NSFW, you'll find it to be pretty much on track for what Alternian society would consider normal.  It's quite tame but, as per the inspiration provided by a good friend of mine, is most definitely a passionate piece!  Thus, if you're looking for a Fluff story to warm the cockles of your heart, look for the SFW version of the tale on my main page (if you started with the SFW version, the first 11 pages are the same, this one just goes on for another twenty some).  Both versions tie into events that took place in one of my other shortfics, "In The Night Air", a Vriska/Kanaya pesterlog, taking place a couple of perigees after that tale.  Thanks for giving this a read! :33</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Purrfect Guest (NSFW Version)

     “I still can’t believe you made it all the way across the desert before the sun came up,” Kanaya said as she opened the hive door for her guest.

     “Nothing to it!” Nepeta grinned and grabbed the jadeblood in a tight embrace. “It’s so pawsome to finally meet you!”

 _She actually uses those puns in real life, too. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose._ Kanaya involuntarily stiffened at first but was able to relax as she chuckled over Leijon’s choice of word. “I feel the same. Really, it takes me the better part of two hours to make it to the edge of the dunes. You did it in barely half of that! Aren’t you cold?”

     “Nah! That’s what the jacket and gloves are for!” Nepeta broke the embrace, shook some of the excess ochre sand off of the sleeves of her long green coat and then quickly dusted more from her gloves. “Besides, running keeps the blood pumping, right? And I’ve got slightly warmer blood than you. Why, did Vriskers complain about the cold when she came?”

     “Not terribly. I think she was more irritated about how far away the hoverbus dumped her from here. And about the idea of having to stay up during the day. I decided to just accommodate her and rest through some of the day so we could spend the night together.”

     “Well, you won’t have to worry about that with me,” Nepeta said, all but bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “I spend a fair bit of time awake during the day, too, but then I think you knew that.”

     Kanaya nodded. “Mmhmm. You’re one of the few I get to chat with on Trollian when I’m at my most alert.   And apparently for some reason, I’m not as alert as I should be; please, come in!”

     “Don’t worry, it’s all good!” Nepeta followed Kanaya inside, set her canvas backpack down on a rug near the floor and let out a low whistle. “Wow… it’s just as beautiful inside as it is outside!”

     “You like it?”

     “You have the most unique hive I’ve ever seen! I mean, the shape of the tower is one thing, but the colourful banners make it just gorgeous. I do love colour!”

     Kanaya was surprised. “You mean you actually noticed that?”

     “Kind of hard to miss!”

     “Oh… I suppose I don’t get many visitors…”

     Nepeta put a hand up on Maryam’s shoulder; she was surprised at how much taller her hostess was than she, but then, most trolls were. _Guess I just assumed she’s so close to me in bloodcolour that she’d be the same height. Never actually met a jadeblood before._ “No, it’s a good thing! Really, I love it! I’m kind of an artist; if there’s one thing I apurrciate, it’s colour!”

     Kanaya smiled at this. “Well, when you put it like that, thank you! Can I get you anything?”

     “I don’t suppose your lusus does the milk thing?”

     “The… ‘milk thing’?”

     “Oh, come on, haven’t you heard Equius mention the lusus milk? He shared some with me last time I visited him. Mine makes some, too, but it’s nowhere near as strong a flavour.”

     Kanaya scrunched up her face as she thought of the idea of milk and where it came from. “Mine has never produced any that I can recall but I will take you and your moirail’s word for it. I do have a selection of teas, though: scarab shedding, ground carapace blend, green ooze, yellow ooze, chamomile, constant crabmeat, red snapbeast and this mix called Unpleasant Slurry I ordered a couple of perigees ago. Care to try it?”

     “Sure! I can have chameowmile at home anytime. I’m all for trying mew things.”

     For a moment, Kanaya contemplated correcting Nepeta’s pronunciation of the words but let it go as soon as she realized this was yet another series of cat puns. Instead she sighed, chuckled to herself and set about fetching mugs and boiling water.

     Nepeta took in her surroundings: they were on the bottom floor of what she knew to be a tall tower. The first thing she noticed was the high white ceilings were adorned in various cloth banners of every hue imaginable, and the second was how clean and orderly everything else was. “Wow, you keep a pretty tidy cave!”

     “Cave?”

     “Oh, right! Sorry… I meant hive. Just a slip of the tongue there.”

     Kanaya chuckled and put the teaspheres into the cups. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in a cave. I know it’s all you’ve known but just the idea of being so isolated in the wilderness is almost overwhelming.”

     “You live a long way from the rest of the world, too,” Nepeta replied. “How is it really any different?”

     “Well, aside from a few sand lusii that are easy to spot from a great distance, there’s really little to fear in our desert. Every now and then I need to attend to someone who stumbles upon our little oasis here, but usually their intentions are benign. When they’re not, I have my ways of attending to them.”

     “I am just dying to see that weapon of yours! It took me ages to fashion my claws but I’m so curious to see this chainsaw you mentioned.”

     Kanaya turned around and produced a small white cylinder from the waistband of her skirt. “Chainsaw?” she asked, giving the tube a quick twist which brought a stick of jade green pigment forth. “Whatever are you talking about?”

     Nepeta watched her apply it to her lips, a puzzled look on her face. “Um, you mentioned you had a chainsaw to defen-”

     “Oh! Out the window! Do you see that?”

     “See what?” Nepeta turned her attention to the single window in the block: all she could see was the first rays of daylight punching through the leaves of the trees outside. “I don’t see anything… different…” As soon as her eyes returned to Kanaya, the jadeblood was holding a large white mechanical contraption in her hands. “THAT’S SO COOL HOW DID YOU DO THAT?” she shouted, leaping to her feet.

     “I’m not entirely certain how it works, but I am quite happy that it does.” Kanaya hefted the chainsaw up and was about to engage the motor but stopped short. “Oh, right. Mother gets upset when I run it in the hive.” She swore she could hear Nepeta’s face fall at this so she added, “but maybe I can provide a full demonstration outside later on?”

     “That would be supurrb!”

     Kanaya laughed. “I have never heard that one before, but I don’t think I’ll forget it anytime soon.” With a flick of her wrist, the chainsaw returned to its previous state and she tucked it back into her long red skirt.

     “So… cool…”

     “I think so, too.” Kanaya poured the now boiling water into the cups and brought them to the table, where Nepeta was sitting, wide-eyed. “So, what did you bring for us to work on?”

     “Oh right!” Nepeta sprang from her chair and returned with her canvas knapsack, which was packed to bursting with material. “I’ve got a few ideas, believe me!”

     “Do you have a few nights to stay while we work on them?”

     “Yep! A whole week. My lusus had no problem at all with it, but you know how Equius can be.”

     Kanaya nodded sagely. “His behaviour towards you concerns me on occasion. I hope you don’t think it too forward of me to say so.”

     “No! Totally okay. A lot of people think he’s being controlling but really, it’s just… kind of the way he likes to act?” Nepeta dropped her eyes away for a moment. “Can I tell you something? If you promise to keep it quiet?”

     “Of course. Your secrets are always safe with me.”

     “Thanks.” She gathered up her courage for a moment, then blurted, “He’s actually a big softie but you’d never know it.” Nepeta waited for Kanaya to laugh or roll her eyes but to her surprise, that response never came.

     “I must admit, while on the surface I would not have suspected as such, it always pleases me to learn that any preconceptions I have of someone that might be considered negative are incorrect. I personally wouldn’t have the patience to put up with his peculiar devotion to hemohierachy, but if you tell me that he’s capable of much more than that, I’m pleased to hear it. Most of what I know of him comes from Vriska, of course.”

     “Being his neighbour – and he puts the emphasis on the ‘neigh’ part – I suppose she’d have plenty to say about him. So what _does_ she say?”

     Kanaya took a small sip of her drink. “Not much. She finds his personal deportment rather revolting but then, she has a tendency to exaggerate.”

     Nepeta snorted. “You’re not kidding!” She immediately brought her hand up to her mouth as soon as she said the words. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a jerk about your moirail.”

     “No worries. I am the one who said it, after all.”

     “Whew!” Nepeta thought for a moment about adding to this and then chose to. “She is your moirail, right? Some of the things you were telling me last week suggested something possibly a touch redder?”

     Kanaya fought the smile but failed miserably. “Perhaps. Some of our activities have suggested so. At least, the things we were doing would be considered by many to be the province of red lovers…”

     Nepeta watched as Kanaya’s expression darkened as quickly as it brightened a few moments earlier. “What? Is something else going on?”

     “I just… Maybe I’m just being silly.”

     “You can tell me, Kan! I’ll keep your secrets, too.” She reached across the table and placed her hand on top of Maryam’s and was pleased that it wasn’t withdrawn.

     “Well, remember how I mentioned Tavros the other night? And how he was acting rather strangely around Vriska online?”

     “I do. I kinda saw what you were talking about but then, with Tavros, it’s tough to tell when he’s being silly or when he’s being serious.”

     Kanaya sighed. “I know. This is what I was referring to, though. Ever since I made that dress for her to wear with his Pupa Pan one, he’s been constantly roleplaying with her online and I’m sure they’re going to have another FLARP session soon enough.”

     Nepeta did her best to repress a shiver. “Yeah… that’s kind of a scary thought.”

     “I must confess that I believed you’d be quite into that sort of thing.”

     “Oh, I am! Well, maybe less so these nights.”

     “How come?”

     Nepeta wrestled with this. _Should I tell her?_ “The last time I was in a FLARP was with Vriska. It was fun… to start…”

     “Oh. She has mentioned she went out with you once.”

 _That pause is lingering a bit too long._ “Uh huh… what did she say about it? Don’t worry, you can be honest. I’d prefurr it, actually.”

     The pun made Kanaya smile in spite of herself. “All right. She said that while you were really cute and all kinds of adventurous, she was frustrated by your, in her words, lack of killer instinct.” Nepeta nodded and Kanaya added, “Please don’t be upset. Her words, not mine, and I don’t know the situation.”

     “No, no! It’s okay.   Her opinion of ‘killer instinct’ and mine is a bit different. See, when I’m hunting, I know when to kill. I choose animals that are the right age and in the right place. I won’t kill for the sake of it or for pleasure. I have had to kill people who were threatening me or harming those who didn’t deserve it. I’m not proud of those moments but I refuse to stand by and watch others be hurt. That scenario involved the potential for injuring other FLARPers instead of just tagging them. She wanted to make it look accidental but the injuries would have been real enough to, as she said, ‘teach them a lesson so that they don’t fuck up the same way twice.’ As she was setting up to do so, I intervened and that, plus having to deal with the fact that I actually got the drop on her, really made her mad. We still talk and all; we did have a pretty good time when it came to the non-FLARP stuff, but we have no plans on going out to role play again anytime soon. At least, not in real life.” _And considering Kanaya here might be a bit jealous of Tavros, I best keep the non-FLARP activity quiet for now, too,_ she thought while she waited for Kanaya’s reply _._

     “That sounds like Vriska, all right. No sense in denying it. But I suppose that’s the role of the moirail, isn’t it? To keep someone from getting involved in things they shouldn’t be?”

     Nepeta laughed at this. “Yeah, it is. Do you know how many times I’ve had to talk Equius out of saying something really typist to somebody else, even though his intentions aren’t as bad as his words would sound?”

     “I’m trying to think of a situation where those kind of words could actually be anything other than offensive. There are those who can get away with the occasional off-colour joke but honestly, he comes off as rather overbearing and elitist at times.”

     “And that’s just it! He’s really not like that! He’s just trying to fulfill the role that he thinks society demands he play. In his own way, maybe he’s just a roleplayer like me?”

     Kanaya considered this. “Interesting way to look at it, I must admit. I suspect he’s more likely to be that way than Eridan, at least.”

     Nepeta let out a long sigh. “Yeah. Vriskers can give me the jeebs now and then but that guy… he not only sounds like a stereotypical seadweller, I think he means it.”

     “I’ve had the pleasure of trying to auspistice between him and Vriska. I think you’re absolutely correct in your assessment.”

     “Auspistice those two? Wow, that’s getting inclade, isn’t it? You sure you can handle something like that? No offense, but that can get kind of heavy, especially with an ashen relationship.”

     Kanaya took another sip of her tea and savoured it, letting it roll around on her tongue before replying. “I seem to have a knack with auspistism. I know many shy away from it, but to be honest, I think helping others is the noblest thing one can do.”

     “I’m glad there are people like you willing to do it! I mean, it’s one thing to have Equius looking out for me, even though I can look after myself just fine, but to try to keep a genocidal maniac-in-training from falling into a kismesissitude with someone like her who has no qualms about killing? That’s a whole other ball of fish!”

     “That’s cute; I’ll have to remember that one, too.”

     Nepeta grinned and tried to take a drink of her tea. “Me-OW! Hot! How did you drink yours so fast?”

     “Heat never bothered me terribly much, I suppose. Maybe it comes with being able to walk in the daylight? Speaking of which, sorry we got sidetracked; what did you bring with you for materials?”

     “Oh right!” Nepeta opened her backpack and first extracted a long piece of white fur. “I stripped this from something I hunted one morning. I couldn’t believe it was almost perfectly my size! That is, I have a feeling I’m not likely to grow much more, so it should work well.”

     Kanaya unrolled the animal skin and examined it: it was basically an unmounted rug, the entire hide of an animal with the legs and claws and head still attached, but the skin beneath was nice and supple. “I can work with this, but what exactly do you have in mind?”

     “A disguise, basically! I want to be able to lash it around my neck, wrists and ankles and hunt in it. By wearing this, I should be able to sneak up on larger game. It’s also like a roleplay in a way; I’ll have to learn how these animals move in order to be convincing enough.”

     “That’s actually a really good idea.” She looked Nepeta over quickly and then sized up the pelt again. “I believe this should cover you well.”

     “Yay! I also brought some of this, too.” The oliveblood pulled out a clump of similar fur, this bunch being in pieces but also dyed a shade of blue. “Just for my own pleasure, could you make this into a pair of slippers? I’d really like a pair of cat feet… if that’s not too silly.”

     Kanaya smiled. “Not at all. Nothing’s too silly if it’s something you enjoy.”

     “Really? Aw, thanks!” Nepeta leapt up from her chair and came around the table to give Kanaya another hug. Kanaya rose to meet her and as Nepeta embraced her, she bumped something on the jadeblood’s waist, causing Kanaya’s clothing to suddenly change. “Whoa! What happened? What did I do?”

     “It’s all right; that’s my wardrobifier.”

     “Your whowhatnow?”

     Kanaya reached down to her waist and pressed a small button. Her clothing, which had switched to a blue silk gown, changed again into a light green dress with a pink ribbon tied around her waist. “Wardrobifier. It allows me to switch outfits depending on my mood without having to go all the way upstairs to change.”

     “How does it work?” Nepeta asked.

     “Quite well, thanks.”

     It took a moment for Nepeta to realize what Kanaya was up to, but when she did she laughed. “You’re just as snarky in person, you know that?”

     “I try.”

     “Haha! You succeed, too! Anyway, I also brought this stuff…” Nepeta resumed rummaging through her knapsack, tossing various scraps of fabric and animal fur onto the table for Kanaya’s perusal. “I was kinda hoping you might be able to make some neat costumes out of these?”

     Kanaya looked over the clothes the oliveblood was wearing at the moment: her trenchcoat was decidedly well-worn, and both the black t-shirt adorned with her symbol and her khaki pants had seen better days, the desert sand notwithstanding. “I should be able to fashion something out of them. Would you like me to try and put together some new daily wear for you as well?”

     “Why?” Nepeta asked plaintively. “Is there something wrong with these?”

     “Oh! No, not at all; it was just that… in case you wanted to have an extra set to wear… and clothes are hard to come by where you live…”

     “Yeah, they can be; all I usually run across are bits and scraps of material so it’s rare to find an intact pair of pants. Besides, these are so comfy! I do my best to wash them in the river, but they are wearing down a bit, I guess.”

     Kanaya was quietly relieved her guest wasn’t inadvertently insulted by her offer. “Let me see what I can do for you. But if it’s all the same, I’d rather start on that tomorrow. Besides, I suspect you’re probably fatigued from your journey.”

     Nepeta nodded. “A little. While I don’t mind being up in the morning, it was a pretty long run through the sand.”

     “How about you grab your tea and we can take a tour of the hive, then? You can use my shower to clean up and I have a small cot I can set up in my respiteblock for you beside my recupracoon.”

     “Sounds great!” Nepeta set about stuffing her material back into her bag and then slung it over her shoulder before grabbing her teacup. “Lead the way!”

     Kanaya chuckled. “Your enthusiasm is infectious, you know.”

     Nepeta beamed in response. “I sure do! Let’s go!”

 

 

     “YOU MADE THESE FUR ME WHILE I WAS SLEEPING? THEY’RE SO PAWSOME! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!”

     Kanaya waited patiently while Nepeta power-hugged her to express her gratitude at the gift she left beside the oliveblood’s cot. “Oof… No problem! And you’re very welcome! The shoes were quite easy to make.”

     “BUT IT’S THE HAT! HOW DID YOU DO IT?”

     “Let’s just say I was inspired by the footwear.”

     Nepeta let go long enough to toss her new slippers down on the floor to put them on and moments later, the blue fur hat, complete with holes wide enough to accommodate her horns and a simple kitty face on the front, was perched atop her head. “This is AMAZING! I never would have thought this even possible?”

     “You don’t mind that I used the blue fur for this?”

     “Are you kidding? This is better than I even thought possible!” Nepeta scurried over to the full length mirrors in one of the corners of Kanaya’s respiteblock and stared at her reflection. “This is just PURRFECT! I can’t even!”

     Kanaya gave her a funny look. “Can’t even what?”

     The answer came as yet another hug. “You don’t understand! No one has ever done anything like this… for me… before...”

     She let go quite suddenly and turned away, which left Maryam rather baffled. “Nepeta? Are you okay?”

     “Mmhmm. Just need a minute.” She raised her wrist to her face and wished she was wearing her long coat at the time.

     Kanaya gathered that her guest was overwhelmed and opted to just stand back for a moment and wait for Nepeta to gather herself. After about a minute she said, “I’m truly touched you think so highly of it. I must admit that my… moirail didn’t exactly react the same way last time I made her something.”

     Nepeta sniffed and turned to face Kanaya, a few olive streaks still smeared across her face. “Really? That… doesn’t seem right to me. These are really something else!”

     “Some people just express themselves differently, I suppose. Vriska gets excited in her own way but much of it is aimed at the object itself versus the person who presented the gift.” Kanaya paused and let her head hang forward. “Forgive me; that was rather selfish.”

     Nepeta answered not with her voice but with another kind hug, which lasted the better part of a minute. “I apurrciate this so much. Thank you.”

     “You’re quite welcome. And the good news is that we’re just getting started.”

     Kanaya tried to stifle a yawn but Nepeta picked up on it immediately. “Were you up all day making these?”

     “I was awake anyway. I tried getting up well before sunup in an attempt to transition over to your hours a bit. All I need is a bit of a nap and I should be fine.”

     “Did you want to use my cot?” Nepeta offered. “No sense getting all sopor slimy just for a nap, right?”

     “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.” Kanaya let go of the smiling oliveblood and made her way over to the simple bed that was now set up beside the recupracoon that hung from the ceiling in her respiteblock. The sun had set and she turned on a small glowglobe so that Nepeta could find her way around. “All I need is a couple of hours, I’m sure.”

     “If you want a bit more than that, I don’t mind.”

     “Are you certain?” Kanaya asked as she sat down on the cot and stretched her long arms over her head and yawned again.

     “For sure!”

     “Do you need something to do? My lusus is likely resting now but you can do as you like. I have ample books and movies downstairs to choose from.”

     Nepeta looked down at her fuzzy blue footwear. “Actually, if you’d like, I’d be willing to cuddle up with you...”

     Kanaya looked at her with a mix of curiousity and confusion. “But you just slept for the better part of eight hours; are you certain?”

     “Kan, I could sleep away a whole night and day. Sometimes I’m up that long hunting but there’s nothing I enjoy more than curling up with my Pouncekitty and just dozing away, all nice and warm. There’s something kinda... healing about it, you know?”

     “Admittedly, I don’t,” Kanaya replied. “Well, I’d be willing to try it if you’re certain you could sleep a little longer...” She had barely finished saying the words when Nepeta was laying down beside her in the cot. “I see.”

     “How about you just face that way and I’ll cuddle up behind you and keep you warm. How’s that sound?”

     “You know, I rather like the sound of that.” Kanaya rolled over to face the wall and a few moments later, felt Nepeta’s arm drape over her shoulder and her thighs snuggle in to the backs of her own.

     “Comfy?”

     “Quite, actually. More than I thought I would be.” A pause. “I’ve never actually shared a ‘coon or a cot with anyone else before.”

     “That’s okay,” purred Nepeta, “you’re doing just fine. Now, just take some deep breaths, count backwards from thirty-three and... oh. You’re already out.” With a satisfied smile on her face, Nepeta nuzzled in behind her and closed her eyes.

 

 

     “I trust you found breakfast satisfactory?”

     Nepeta licked her fingers again for emphasis. “Are you kidding? That was amazing! The toasted grubloaf is as fresh as I’ve ever had and I don’t know where you found that syrup but I’ve never tasted anything quite like it!”

     Kanaya beamed as she took to the spiral staircase that led up to her respiteblock. “It’s more of a nectar, technically. There are insects that pollinate the crystalanthemums – bees of some kind, purple in colour – that produce a rather sweet by-product in their hives. This isn’t the ‘mind honey’ Sollux uses in his computers, I gather, but something fed to the larva to sustain them before they adapt to feeding on the more potent neurological network building agent they are most noted for.”

     “I don’t see many of those bees in my part of the world, which makes keeping my husktop up and running a challenge. So far, so good thankfully. That Sollux has been pawfully helpful, hasn’t he?”

     “To say the least. I must admit he struck me as a touch moody at first, but with a little hassling, he comes around and can be quite willing to assist when needed.”

     Nepeta giggled. “Hassling, huh?”

     “Well, he’s easier to get through to than Karkat sometimes. When Karkat’s in one of his moods, there’s no stopping his ranting. Although more often than not, it’s entertaining.”

     As they took the last of the stairs to enter the respiteblock, Nepeta said, “Oh he certainly is! You’ve known him for a long time, haven’t you?”

     “Mmhmm.” Kanaya headed for her sewing table and found her graduated flexible flatmeasurer. “It was through him that I met the rest of you. He was actually the first person I met when I started using Trollian. Just a random encounter. I remember signing on the first time and pressing that ‘Troll Someone Randomly’ button and I get this block of grey text grousing about how somebody’s lusus was being a... oh, how did he put it... ‘A GIGANTIC FESTERING TURDWAD WHO NEEDS TO DISLODGE HIS HEAD FROM HIS NOOK BEFORE IT GETS STUCK THERE PERMANENTLY IF IT HASN’T ALREADY’.”

     Kanaya’s shout made Nepeta start but once she realized the jadeblood was mimicking Karkat’s typing patterns and that his all-capitals style of typing likely meant he was yelling what he said, she laughed. “Is that what he really sounds like?”

     “Yes. He can be an adorable little ball of rage but underneath it all, he’s really quite intelligent and capable.”

     “I bet! Have you actually met him, too?”

     “I have, yes. A full sweep ago, in fact. I went to visit him, actually.”

     Nepeta tried not to look too crestfallen. “Oh. And?”

     Kanaya sighed. “His lusus was nowhere near as much of an ‘imbecilic cesspit’ as he suggested. I couldn’t understand a word it said but he treated us well enough.”

     “And what about him? Was there any... you know... red or black leanings?”

     “Oh, not at all. We started out a bit pale but it never quite developed fully. I consider him a very good friend in a way that the quadrants don’t quite cover. Although I have to admit, what I have with him would be closer to pale than what goes on with Vriska sometimes.”

     “Well, that’s good then!” Nepeta said, trying her best not to sound too relieved.

     Kanaya retrieved the white animal skin from her visitor’s knapsack and laid it out on her table. “If anything, there might be an opportunity to auspistice him and someone else. He can be rather abrasive now and then and it’s only a matter of time before someone in our group interprets that as ebon flirtation. The last thing we need is blackrom interfering with our dynamic.”

     “So that’s why you want to go ashen with Vriskers and Eridan?”

     “Precisely. Have you ever been involved in an auspistism at all?”

     Nepeta shook her head. “Nope. The whole black and ashen thing really doesn’t appeal to me all that much at the moment. I’m way more interested in seeing people get into redder relationships.”

     Kanaya set about measuring the hide. “So you consider yourself a relationship facilitator, then? Interesting.”

     “Facilitator isn’t quite the right word. I just like seeing people happy together is all. To be honest, before you told me about him and Vriska, I kinda thought maybe you and Tavros might be a good fit.” Nepeta regretted speaking those words as soon as they left her mouth; Kanaya stopped measuring for a moment and sighed. “Hey, I’m sorry; I know things are different than that, of course.”

     “I know. You didn’t mean anything by them. Honestly, Tavros isn’t my type.”

     “Well, he can be a bit wishy-washy, but he does have a kind spirit.”

     Kanaya faced her friend, a hint of blush in her cheeks. “It’s... more than that. I just... tend to prefer the look of... well, ladies.”

     “Ohhhhh. Well, that’s cool. I’m fine with either but I know some folks who have their preferences. The drones don’t care where what’s in the buckets came from so long as it’s there and it’s what it should be, right?”

     “Drones,” Kanaya grumbled. “My lusus told me that collecting buckets was their task once upon a time. They were far kinder about it than the Empress’s drones are. What if I don’t want to form a black relationship anytime soon? Especially before I get dragged off-planet to fight in some conflict I want no part of! You feel the same way, obviously. It’s not fair to be culled because of that, right?”

     “No, it isn’t!” Nepeta agreed. “On the night side, at least the drones don’t tend to visit where I live terribly often. I don’t think they’d care to come through here that often, either, so you should be okay, right?”

     “I certainly hope so. Want to hear something funny? I like to use that phrase but as ‘On the bright side’. Seems to suit a Daywalker better, wouldn’t you agree?”

     “I gather you’re a big fan of those Rainbow Drinker stories. I had a peek at your library; it’s been so long since I’ve seen a new book.”

     Kanaya froze. “You mean you don’t have books?”

     Nepeta shook her head. “Not many. Certainly not as many as I’d like to have. There aren’t a whole lot of bookvendors in the middle of a forest. Most of the ones I have Pounce kept from way back or I’ve taken from the bodies of people who had an unfortunate run-in with the forest animals. It’s a pretty mixed collection, let me tell you.”

     “Then perhaps I can lend you a couple? Under the promise that you’ll return them when you’re done?”

     “Sure thing! I’m all about romance.”

     At that, Kanaya drew herself up and put her hands on her hips. “Rainbow Drinker tales are about far more than just romance. It’s a common misconception in this night and age that they’re little more than ‘trashy literature’. I can assure you that there are many exciting adventures that take place within those pages that far exceed the standard of many books that bear the title of ‘worth reading’.”

     Nepeta chuckled at Kanaya’s response, uncertain if it was entirely an exaggerated defense or not. “All right, sure, I’d love to try one.”

     “Oh! Okay, that’s... great!” Kanaya smiled, her longer fangs protruding from under her lip. “... more than Vriska would do, that’s for sure...” she mumbled as she finished making her measurements.

     For a few moments, Nepeta debated whether to say what was on her mind and opted to do so. “Something tells me you’re not really too happy with Vriskers right now, are you?”

     Kanaya let her shoulders drop. “Yes and no. I mean, everything is going well in a pale sense, and she certainly does like to flirt with me in a much redder manner, but...” With a sigh of exasperation, she continued, “It’s difficult to think that I might not be the only one she’s flushing for. Is it my lack of experience? Is there something really wrong with me?”

     “The only thing that could pawssibly be wrong with you, and I mean ‘wrong’ in the nicest way pawssible, is that you’re too hard on yourself. All you need is a little self-confidence!”

     “I’d like to think that I’m quite confident in my abilities.”

     “This is a different kind of confidence,” Nepeta said, sauntering over to the sewing table. “You need to be proud of who you are and what you have to offer. You’re not going to be able to find love or hate unless you can love yourself fully or be your own best rival and challenge yourself to new heights.”

     “My lusus says something similar to that,” Kanaya lamented.

     “Did it ever occur to you that maybe she’s right?” Nepeta was about to give the jadeblood a couple of playful knocks on the head to emphasize the point but decided that might not go over well with her host’s personality.

     “Possibly, but it’s easier said than done!” Kanaya slapped her palms on the sewing table and hung her head in frustration. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to carry on like this, but it’s hard and no one underst-”

     “Uh-uh,” Nepeta interrupted, “someone DOES understand! I’m your age and I know what it’s like to question whether or not someone likes you either as a friend or a quadmate. Crushes happen all the time; sometimes they’re returned, sometimes not. People who are meant to be together will be in time, so just be yourself no matter what! If you show confidence, you’ll just be that much more attractive, right?”

     Kanaya gave her a look that suggested she wasn’t entirely convinced but was willing to hear more. “Maybe...”

     “That’s the spirit! I, for one, think you’re wonderful. You do such amazing work and you’re so kind and supportive. Who wouldn’t want you in their life?”

     “Well... when you put it that way...”

     “Exactly! Now, let’s get you doing what you do best and go from there, okay?”

     With a nod that suggested maybe her oliveblood friend might actually be right, Kanaya picked up her flatmeasurer again and finished taking stock of how long the limbs on the animal skin were. “All right, I think I have a handle on that. Time to measure you. Put on whatever you’d want to wear underneath that hide and I’ll get started.”

     “Okies!” Without so much as a moment of pause, Nepeta peeled off her black symbol t-shirt and began undoing her pants. “Oops... better remove these cool blue kitty shoes before I try to get those off.” A few seconds later, she stepped out of her underwear and stood completely bare in front of Kanaya. “Ready!” When she didn’t get a response from the jadeblood, she looked up to see Kanaya looking at her, eyes wide. “What’s the matter? Everything okay?”

     Kanaya’s mouth was moving but not much in the way of cohesive sound was coming out.

     “Oh! I should explain: I usually hunt in the nude. Clothes are restrictive and the colours often scare away the prey. Besides, it’s really hot out there during the day, but of course you knew that. Maybe you don’t feel the heat the same way I do? Wearing this skin is going to make it plenty warm, I know, but if it helps me sneak up on some bigger game, it’s totally worth it!”

     “Oh... I, uh, see...”

     It finally dawned on Nepeta why Kanaya was having issues speaking. “Wait... you’re not used to this at all, are you! I hadn’t even thought about that! I’m naked as often as not; there’s no one else around usually and honestly, what’s the big deal? We’re all naked under our clothes, right?” She noticed Maryam’s eyes stealing glances down now and then and smiled. “Have you ever seen anyone undressed before?”

     Kanaya swallowed hard, her mouth dry. “N-no, actually. Not in person, anyway.”

     “It’s okay; just relax! I’m still the same person I was a minute ago. I’m purrfectly fine with my body. I’m sure yours is just fine, too!”

     “Well, it’s... a little curvy in some spots but...”

     “You’re beautiful, Kanaya. Really. Don’t be afraid to show it! See, once you get used to yourself, you become way more confident! Do you like what you see?”

     This time, Kanaya was left stammering, a state she wasn’t used to at all. “Well, I, er... yes, I... can I say that?”

     “Of course! And that’s totally natural! Besides, if this is what I’m wearing under that hide, this is how you’d want to measure me, right?”

     “Um, yes, yes it would be...”

     Nepeta smiled warmly. “Good! Then go right ahead!” She drew her tiny frame up as tall as she could and extended her arms out to the sides.

     At first, Kanaya was hesitant, but she opened up her flatmeasurer, walked up to Nepeta and placed one end on her small but muscular shoulder, the other to the tip of her middle finger. “Did... did you want it to come down to end at your wrist? Or did you want to keep the animal’s feet so they cover your hands?”

     “I was thinking to tie it at the wrists and keep the feet to hide my claws until the last minute! Rawr!”

     Kanaya actually giggled in spite of her awkwardness. “All right, that’s not a problem. I... um... need to measure you from shoulder to feet. Would you... prefer I do it on your front or your back?”

     “You can choose whichever you like. I’m not any taller on one particular side,” Nepeta joked.

     “That sounds like something I’d say,” Kanaya replied. “Don’t tell me you’re picking up some of my wit already after only a couple of nights here?”

     “Okay, I won’t tell you.” Nepeta tried her best to keep a straight face but couldn’t.

     Kanaya shook her head. “I’d call you a smartnook but that would be a case of the small ironcast heating vessel calling the large ironcast heating vessel an identical shade of black.”

     “Hee hee...”

     Initially, Kanaya thought about running the flatmeasurer down Nepeta’s chest to her feet but realized it would likely encounter one of the olive nipples present. She instead moved to Nepeta’s posterior, but found that the tape might not run straight vertically due to the curvature of her backside. _Worth a try..._ She placed the flatmeasurer at Nepeta’s shoulder and let the other end fall to the floor; it fluttered as it went, tickling the oliveblood which made her titter.

     “Whatcha doin’ back there?”

     “Just... you know... measuring.”

     “Take your time. My butt doesn’t bite.”

     “I’m most relieved to hear it!”

     Kanaya could see the lean muscle in Nepeta’s legs and rump, yet her feminine curve was still quite evident. _I shouldn’t be looking at her this way, should I? She certainly doesn’t seem to mind at all._ “Um, would you mind if I measured you from the front, too? I fear this particular measurement may be slightly inaccurate.”

     Nepeta chuckled. “You go right ahead.”

     “Thanks!” Kanaya brought her tape around and stood facing Leijon once again. She laid the end of the tape on Nepeta’s collarbone and asked, “Can you hold this for me?”

     “Sure.”

     Kanaya guided the flatmeasurer down this time, trying hard not to look like she wasn’t trying to look at the places on Nepeta’s body that had a distinctive olive tinge to them. Once she arrived at Nepeta’s feet, she took her measurement.   “Got it. You can let go now.”

     Nepeta did so and watched Kanaya’s face as the jadeblood rose again. “Having fun yet?”

     “You could say that.”

     “If I were you, I’d say ‘I just did.’”

     “Hard to argue that,” Kanaya said with a smirk. She took a step back and thought about what she was going to have to do next.

     “Can I put my arms down now?” Nepeta asked.

     “Actually, the next measurement I need to take is your chest... and I’m trying to figure out a way to do it that wouldn’t be too... awkward?”

     “Kan, it’s not awkward at all. I’m totally comfortable with it.”

     Kanaya wished her mouth wasn’t so dry. “I’m... getting there.”

     “Would you feel better if we were on even ground?”

     “What do you mean?”

     Nepeta smiled warmly. “What if you took off your shirt, too? This way we’re both in the same state of dress... or undress, as the case may be? Might help with your confidence? You know that there’s no way I’m going to make fun of you or say something nasty. I think you’re beautiful.”

     “You do?”

     “Yup!”

     Kanaya’s hands moved to the bottom of her own black shirt but stopped just short of grabbing the hem. “Nepeta... is this a red overture? I need to know.”

     “I was wondering if you were going to ask. Kan, this is really all about me trying to make you see how pawsome you are! There doesn’t have to be any connotations at all! My red intentions... belong to someone else, but there’s nothing wrong with a couple of friends teaching each other some things, is there? I like you lots and lots, Kanaya, and if you weren’t pale with Vriskers, I’d consider you for the quad, but we’re just good furrends trying to help one another out. Does that work for you?”

     Nepeta waited, slightly nervously, for Kanaya to peruse this and was relieved when Kanaya nodded. “Yes, I believe it does. I trust you. And I really like you, too. Maybe you have the right idea.” Before Nepeta could even vocalize a response, Kanaya lifted her t-shirt over her head and tossed it on the sewing table, followed by the tight long sleeved one she wore underneath.   “There. How’s that?”

     “It’s not about me, Kan, it’s about you. How do you feel about it?”

     Kanaya looked down at the two soft grey cones that came to jade points before looking back to the smiling Leijon. “Pretty good, actually.”

     “See? I’m proud of you! Now, come on over here and measure me. My boobs don’t bite, either.”

     “While I’m glad you’re taking the time to reassure me about these things, do most parts of other people’s anatomy generally bite?”

     “I can’t tell if you’re being snarky here or not.”

     “To be honest, neither am I.”

     Nepeta laughed and raised her arms just a little bit higher to encourage Maryam to slide the flatmeasurer around her torso. Kanaya did so, bringing her bare chest just a little too close to Nepeta’s in the process and causing her guest to inhale involuntarily at the sensation as they met. “There are a couple of spots that are a bit more sensitive than others, but I think you just noticed that.”

     Kanaya nodded her agreement and as she brought the ends of the tape around Nepeta’s body to complete her measurement, she detected that the oliveblood’s nipples were now just as prominent as her own. “Those might make getting a proper measurement a bit trickier.”

     “You can just run the flatmeasurer around me underneath them. Should still work, no?”

     “I believe so.” She made the adjustment and said. “Got it. Looks good.”

     “Thanks! So do yours!”

     There was no mistaking the flush in Kanaya’s face this time. “Thank you! Now... hmmm...”

     Nepeta studied her friend’s face. “You’re trying to figure out how to ask me something, aren’t you? I can so tell.”

     “Well, actually, the next measurement I need to take is your inseam.”

     “Ooh! What’s that entail?”

     Kanaya paused and tried not to look directly at the area she’d be working, despite her curiousity. “I need to measure the inside of your leg from your ankle to your.... um...”

     “My?” Nepeta asked with a smirk.

     Maryam scrunched up her face. “‘Crotch’ is such an ugly sounding word. So is ‘groin’.”

     “Do you prefer ‘seedflap’?”

     Kanaya was about to reply when she suddenly understood what Nepeta meant and started laughing. “I see what you did there. I do happen to have a preference, yes.”

     Nepeta was cracking up at her friend’s response. “Thought you’d like that. Go right ahead and measure away.” She could see Kanaya on the brisk of hesitating again and made a suggestion. “Would it help if you...”

     Kanaya nodded. _In for a caegar now... Just go for it!_ She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her scarlet skirt and pulled it down to the floor. Once she stepped out of it, Kanaya used her foot to gently nudge it aside and placed her hands in front of what she had never shown anyone else.

     “Something tells me you’re not a fan of underwear?” Nepeta asked.

     “Not usually. I rather just like the feel of the fabric of my skirt on my skin. I do wash frequently, though.”

     “That’s never a bad thing. I’m lucky to have a nice stream beside my cave to bathe in. And you don’t have to be shy around me, remember? It’s going to be pretty tough to measure me with your hands down there.”

     “I suppose you’re right.” Kanaya let her hands fall to her sides. “There.”

     Nepeta stepped forward and put her arms around her friend. She relished the skin-to-skin contact but knew this was about more than that. “I’m so proud of you, Kan. You’re absolutely gorgeous! I love the curve of your hips! I wish mine did that.”

     Kanaya smiled sweetly. “Really? I mean, they’re rather helpful at keeping my skirt up.”

     “Really! Be proud of your body!”

     “Well, Vriska does say I have a ‘choice ass’, for what it’s worth.” She quickly turned around to show Nepeta and then back again. “Do you think so?”

     “I think your butt is great, but it doesn’t mean anything until you believe it. Do you?”

      Kanaya looked over her shoulder to the full length mirror in the corner behind her. “I could be convinced...”

     “That’s a start! Now, are you ready to measure?”

     “I believe so.” She approached Nepeta and decided which leg to measure; once determined, she kneeled down and found herself directly in front of the oliveblood’s seedflap. _I want to look but not too long; I better say something..._ “Does this part of you bite? I suppose I should ask and not assume.”

     “Nope, it doesn’t bite. If it did, I wouldn’t have any fingers left!” Nepeta thought Kanaya was blushing before, but the jadeblood’s face was positively radiating heat now. “And playing with it is perfectly natural as well. Have you ever?”

     “Perhaps,” Kanaya whispered.

     “Kan, I’ve seen the books you read. If those don’t make you hot and bothered, I don’t know what would!”

     “I’m not certain I’m even doing it right, though. I don’t seem to get the copious amount of fluid or gratifying release they talk about in the bucket scenes and I can’t even believe I’m telling you this!”

     Nepeta rested a hand on Kanaya’s bare shoulder. “That’s okay! You need someone to talk to and I’m here! You know I’m not going to tell anyone anything, right? Your secrets are safe with me.”

     A memory moved across Kanaya’s face like a shadow. “It’s a bit tough to trust sometimes. Vriska let it slip on Trollian that she and I fooled around a bit. I don’t think she did it intentionally but I suspect she was trying to brag to Eridan and it just sort of happened. At least, that was her explanation.”

     “Yeah, I was on that night. It was one thing for you to talk to me about it with a Private Pester but for her to blab it all over the boards like that wasn’t cool.”

     “Are you still upset with Vriska over the way the FLARP took place?”

     “A little,” Nepeta admitted. “But not to the point where I don’t think she’s a good person. She does genuinely care for others, but sometimes she just seems kinda fickle. There’s all kinds of good and bad in that one. I’ll just make sure I watch my back around her is all. If you’re feeling upset like I’m insulting her or something, I’ll totally stop talking about her...”

     “No, it’s okay. I wasn’t impressed with her there either. It was the – can’t believe I’m telling you this, too – first time I’d ever kissed someone, much less engaged in, well, sexual play. It left me rather confused as I no longer understood which quadrant she was trying to romance me in, but then, maybe it was like what you’re suggesting: just friends trying something out.”

     “Hey, I made it clear up front. When it comes to declaring quads, that sort of thing should be laid out pretty plain.”

     Kanaya nodded. She placed the edge of her flatmeasurer in her right hand up against Nepeta’s right ankle and ran the left one slowly up Nepeta’s inseam. “I may need you to... er... open up your stance slightly to get an accurate measurement.”

     “You bet!” Nepeta stood legs slightly akimbo and watched Kanaya work. As Kanaya moved her hand just inside Nepeta’s thigh with the tape, the back of it brushed lightly against her lips and she inhaled, followed by a soft moan.

     “Oh! I’m sorry; did I hurt you there?” Kanaya asked.

     Nepeta just smiled. “Nope. Quite the opposite.” Kanaya blushed again but Nepeta could see there was a smile on her friend’s face as well.

     “All right, I think I’ve got it. Let me measure your ankles, wrists and neck now. I don’t suspect you’ll find that as outwardly pleasurable but it won’t take long.”

     “You just do what you need to do,” Nepeta encouraged, offering her wrist for Kanaya to measure. “I’m in no rush at all.”

     “This is good. You’ll get a far better fit if neither of us is in a hurry.”

 _What an absolute sweetheart,_ Nepeta thought to herself. _I still think Tavros would be a better fit for her than Vriskers ever could be but if she’s just into girls, that’s fine. My heart belongs to another but there’s nothing saying I can’t thank her for being so incredibly pawsome to me. And maybe learn a few things myself..._

     “All done,” Kanaya declared as she tossed the flatmeasurer onto the sewing table and recorded the last set of numbers on her husktop. “You have a good eye; that skin should fit you almost perfectly. I’ll only need to make some minor adjustments to the legs. Your horns should fit nice and snugly into the earholes so I won’t need to do much there. And now that I have your measurements, I should be able to construct these other costumes you’d like, but it might take me over the next three nights to do them and ensure that they fit you properly an-”

     “Kanaya, you’re rambling.”

     “I... I am, yes. Sorry about that.”

     “I thought you were finally relaxing a bit?”

     Kanaya shrugged. “Well, mayhap. I’m getting there. I had completely forgotten I was naked for a few minutes there and then I just suddenly thought of it and now I’m a tad flustered, so perhaps I shou-”

     While Kanaya was carrying on, Nepeta had walked over to her, rose up on the balls of her feet and silenced her jadeblooded friend with a kiss, one that started with pressed lips but quickly gave way to exploring tongues and hands that grabbed onto whatever they could.

     After a couple of minutes, Kanaya broke away and took a deep breath. “I thought you said this wasn’t a flushed thing.”

     “It isn’t,” Nepeta explained.   Can we call it... practice?”

     Kanaya nodded. “That would work just fine.” A moment later, they were locked in another deep kiss, one that found each of them thinking about each other... and another.

 

 

     Nepeta pushed open the door to Kanaya’s respiteblock and leapt into the room, fist extended before her. “KAPOW! The Olive Rogue arrives at her hideout! Behold my cape and feel my wrath, evildoers!”

     Kanaya was on her heels, chuckling at her friend’s excitement. “I take it you’re happy with this costume, then?”

     “Are you kidding? This is amazing! WAY better than I even hoped!” Two bounding jumps and she was in front of Kanaya’s mirror, checking out the burgundy and olive tights, flowing green cape and matching eyemask. “Just LOOK at this! I still can’t believe you made it!”

     “You found the materials; an outfit can only be as good as its constituent components. Where on Alternia did you find it all, again?”

     Nepeta’s head tipped forward a bit and Kanaya immediately wondered if she should have asked the question. “Actually, I found most of it in a refuse pile. Someone had thrown away these exercise garments and they didn’t seem to be in too bad of shape and I hoped that maybe someday I’d be able to make them into something. I hope you don’t mind that you’re working with garbage, basically...”

     “Oh, not at all! You cleaned them well; I never would have guessed! I thought you might have purchased them somewhere but it didn’t occur to me that there aren’t a lot of stores near you.”

     “The refuse pile was pretty far away, too, but I like to make the trip every perigee or so just to see what I can find. I never really thought anything of it until now; all of the fabric around here is so bright and vibrant! It must all be brand new.”

     Kanaya was relieved that Nepeta’s mood rebounded so quickly. “It literally is as new as one can get. I didn’t purchase any of it, either; it came from my lusus.”

     “She can make fabric?” Nepeta asked, incredulous.

     “Yes. She generates a silk from her abdomen and then weaves it with a loom she built. The colours come from whatever flowers she happened to consume nectar from.”

     Nepeta looked out the window. The red light of day was breaking and she could see the white form of Kanaya’s lusus working her way through the gardens, tending to the blooms. “So after she makes us breakfast, she has her own, right?”

     “That’s right.”

     “And she’s out there all day? She won’t usually bother you up here?”

     “She knows I have a guest; she’s more than happy to do her thing while you’re here and let us be.” Kanaya couldn’t help but smile in anticipation.

     Nepeta grinned as well. “Purrfect. Then how about you help me out of this costume and reveal my secret identity?”

     “I already know who you ar-”

     “Just play along, silly!” Nepeta turned her back, undid her cape and waited for Kanaya to unzip her.

     Kanaya sighed but did as she was asked. “At last, I have you, Olive Rogue! And now the world will find out just who you really are underneath that mask!”

     “Alas, Vamphyra! Your Drinker Powers have me completely under your spell! I must do as you command! I can’t move at all! How am I ever going to escape?”

     “Pathetic fool! There’s no escape!” Kanaya shouted, pulling the zipper down and peeling the top of the snug costume down to Nepeta’s waist before suddenly stopping. “Was that too much? I’m still kind of new to this.”

     “No, not at all!” Nepeta answered, pulling her arms out of the sleeves. “Just run with it!”

     “Very well.” She cleared her throat and continued. “First, I have taken your ability to escape and next, I will take your clothing that hides you from the world and finally, I shall take you to my bed and have my way with you!”

     “Oh NOES! Not the comfy bed with the unstoppable tickles!”

     “Mwa-ha-ha! Oh yes!” Kanaya latched onto Nepeta’s tights this time and with a quick tug hauled them down to the floor.

     “Ack! Stripped bare by the Drinker Queen, the sound of her dark laughter, ‘Blah-blah-blah’ ringing in my sponge clots!”

     “Hey!” Kanaya said indignantly. “That was ‘Mwa-ha-ha’. We don’t say ‘Blah-blah-blah’.”

     “No ‘Blah-blah-blah?” Nepeta asked.

     “No ‘Blah-blah-blah’. Common misconception.”

     “Oh! Good to know.”

     “It’s okay. Now, to spirit you away to be touched and cuddled!” Kanaya grabbed Nepeta’s hand and hauled her across the block towards the cot.

     The oliveblood giggled. “But wait! You haven’t revealed my secret identity yet! My mask remains on!”

     Kanaya smiled and for a split second, Nepeta wondered if the legends about the persuasiveness of jadeblood Rainbow Drinkers were actually legitimate. “All in due time. First, I think you need to remove my robes.”

     “I am your thrall; I will do as you say,” Nepeta answered, her voice a flat monotone. She reached forward, undid the green bow in the front of Kanaya’s black and white robe and flipped it open as though it were a curtain.

     “Good. Now slide it over my shoulders and kiss me like you did the day before!”

     Nepeta blinked. “The day before? But Vamphyra, this is the first time I’ve been so close to you. Have we done this before and your used your Rainbow Drinker Thinkpan Wipe Ability to make me forget?”

     Kanaya smiled and shook her head. “You really get into this, don’t you?”

     “I don’t know what you mean, Vamphyra; I’m still the Olive Rogue, champion of love and justice and decidedly epic poses! But maybe, just maybe, unpurrneath this mask you might find this girl you say you’ve been fooling around with last day?”

     “Heh heh.   Maybe indeed.” Kanaya reached up and gently slipped her hands under Nepeta’s hair and untied the olive mask before removing it. “So... it IS you! Somehow I suspected the rumours of your identity but now I know they’re true!”

     “My secret revealed!” Nepeta gasped, throwing a hand to her forehead in mock distress. “Whatever shall I do?”

     Kanaya drew right up to her and looked down into her olive eyes. “All you can do is what I say. You belong to me now.” With that, she placed her jade tinted lips on Nepeta’s and kissed her firmly. Soon hands began to find purchase on bare grey skin and they collapsed onto the cot, brushing and touching.

     “I think it’s totally hot when you talk like that,” Nepeta whispered.

     “Really? I was just... playing.”

     “I know! It was amazing! You do that for Vriskers and I bet she won’t know what to do with you! She’ll be putty in your paws.”

     “Do you honestly think so?”

     Nepeta nodded. “Yup. Look how turned on it’s got me.” She pulled back a bit, exposing her erect nipples and let her left hand disappear between them for a moment before returning with a bright olive tinge on her fingers.

     “And that’s just from us kissing?” Kanaya asked.

     “A bit more than that. Really, it’s the way you were acting, with this kind of confidence, that got me so aroused.”

     Kanaya smiled broadly, her long fangs quite visible. “I’m... touched you think so.”

     “Oh, you’re gonna be touched, all right. If you think you’re finally up for it?”

     The jadeblood thought back to the events of the last two days: they spent almost every moment in her respiteblock as bare as they were on their pupation night, the excitement of just being unclothed around someone else providing Kanaya with a spark she never could have imagined. By the second day, her self-consciousness had all but evaporated as Nepeta coaxed her so completely out of her shell that she found herself wondering if this was what matespritship could actually be like. _But I can’t, not with Nepeta. I still think about Vriska and hope that she and I could be like this. Maybe now we can be?_ She wondered where those thoughts of Vriska had gone to when they curled up together in the cot, nothing at all between their bodies and Nepeta started idly rubbing her all over. Kanaya felt that arousal that would often visit her when she read the racy passages in her Rainbow Drinker tales but in a way that was different somehow. When Nepeta began to press herself up against Kanaya’s backside and her friends hand found its way to gently squeezing her jade nipple between her fingers, she felt an ache down below the likes of which she had never known. _I know what I want to do but I still don’t quite know how to do it. Maybe this is my chance to find out._ “I think so, yes.”

     “So what do you want to learn?”

     “Well,” Kanaya began, finding her mouth suddenly as dry as it was two days previous when Nepeta first suggested she remove her shirt, “I suppose before anything else I should learn how to... touch myself.”

     “I can definitely help you there; I’m a pro at that. Sometimes, I get so excited after catching what I’ve been stalking all morning that I’ll find a secluded spot and rub one out right then and there in the bushes. After I’ve made sure there isn’t another critter stalking ME of course!”

     “That would be a significant concern, I’d imagine.”

     Nepeta laughed. “Yep. Anyway, the first question is ‘are you aroused right now’?”

     Kanaya made a snorting sound. “Do you really need to ask?”

     “Just making sure. Why don’t you check and find out?”

     “How do... oh, right. Like you did.”

     As Kanaya reached between her legs to check for wetness, Nepeta rolled over slightly and said, “I’ll spare you the trouble; look at my thigh!”

     Sure enough, there was a streak of jade on Nepeta’s leg, just about the knee, where Kanaya had wrapped herself around her friend while they were kissing on the bed. “Oh! That came from me?”

     Nepeta replied with a raised eyebrow.

     “Right. Never mind.” A quick glimpse of her fingers also confirmed that she was, in fact, quite excited. “So, what happens now?”

     “Hmmmmm... First, do you have any towels? I’d hate to make a mess on this bed, unless you do the laundry and not your lusus? I just take mine down the river and beat it on a rock...” When this produced a horrified look from Kanaya, Nepeta added, “But I’ll make sure not to do that with these costumes you made, don’t worry!”

     “Okay, good. So, towels? I can get those.” Kanaya rolled off of the cot and walked over to a small door opposite her recupracoon that led to the load gaper and shower. She returned with the towels they had used when they had their showers that morning. “Might as well use these; it will give me an excuse to bring out fresh ones. And yes, I do the laundry. Rocks are not involved.”

     Nepeta knew Kanaya wasn’t being insulting, just a smartnook. “Ha ha. Toss me one of those, please and thanks!” She deftly caught the dark green towel, and laid it out on the cot before grabbing up the pillows. “Now,” she offered, “you can either take one of these and lay with your head at the opposite side and watch or you can lay the same way as I do and maybe we can help each other out?”

     Kanaya wasn’t certain how to answer in case there was a wrong answer but opted for, “Maybe I should start by watching?”

     “Works for me!” Nepeta tossed one of the pillows to each end of the bed and then propped the one closest to her up to lay back against. Once she was comfortable, she gestured for Kanaya to join her which she did by sitting across from her. “Nervous?”

     “A little...”

     “Just relax. The only way you’ll get there is if you are. As funny as it sounds, the best thing to do is not to think about and it’ll happen.”

     “If you say so. I’ll try not to try too hard.”

     Nepeta chuckled at this. “That should work. Now just watch my hands.” She let one leg fall to the side, doing her best to keep it on the bed and lifted the other over Kanaya’s and set it back down so that her left foot was just barely off the edge of the cot. She then licked two of her fingers and placed them between her now spread legs. “Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror?”

     Kanaya nodded. “I have. I know what everything is down there but usually when I try to touch my nub, it hurts and it sometimes spoils the mood I was in.”

     “Well, that’s half the problem! You can’t just go right at it to start.” Nepeta placed her yellow nailed left hand over her seedflap and moved the skin in gentle circles. “You have to work your way up to it and kind of rub all of it at once. At least, that’s what works for me.” She noticed Kanaya watching her movements intently. “You go ahead and look; that’s the whole idea here, right?”

     “All right,” Kanaya replied, although she was still a touch worried about offending her guest by staring.

     After a few moments, Nepeta began moving her fingers a bit faster and occasionally sliding them into the opening of her seedflap and withdrawing a thin film of olive which she would use to moisten her lips and small protrusion at the top of them in particular. “See? If you kinda warm yourself up a bit, you can start getting your nub more involved... and that’s where the fireworks really get started!”

     Kanaya couldn’t help but feel her own starting to ache and as she watched Leijon happily rubbing away she wanted to follow suit. _Okay... let’s try this..._ She let her slender fingers rest on top of the soft smooth skin and made long, slow circles with them. _Ohh... that’s..._

     A soft sigh escaped her and Nepeta picked up on this. “I know that sound. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!”

     “Don’t mind if I do.”

     Nepeta couldn’t help but watch Kanaya’s explorations and it made her arousal that much more intense. She used her right hand to give one of her nipples a light pull and it made her moan with some volume.

     “Is that what those are actually for?” Kanaya asked.

     “It’s what I use them for! Feel free to try it. You don’t have to do it hard; just play with them a bit like you are down below and see what feels good.”

     Kanaya brought her hand to her chest and let her fingers stroke down the shape of her right breast to the jade tip and applied a hint of pressure. “Oh... oh!”

     “See? Now you’re getting it! But once things really get going down below, you’re gonna want to focus on that.”

     “I bet you’re right.”

     “Haven’t I been so far?” Nepeta let her eyes drift across the body of the beautiful young woman in front of her: her large yellow and grey eyes, the sweeping cones of her horns and her small breasts, the soft curve of her stomach and the fullness of her engorged jade-coloured labia. _I still can’t believe I’m actually doing this with someone else! I wonder what she’s thinking about. Or who. Well, I can sure enjoy the view and this is really hot!_ She let her right hand drop away from her chest and slipped it under her thigh to play at her own seedflap, her fingers teasing at the entrance, causing her to sing out louder yet.

     “Careful... those windows are open. Don’t want to be... too loud,” Kanaya warned, her breathing having become faster and more shallow as nature took over.

     “Oh right! I might have to put one of these pillows over my mouth!”  

     Kanaya suddenly became a touch self-conscious. “Will I get that loud?”

     “Not necessarily,” Nepeta answered, “You can control it to a point. Just remember to keep breathing, though.”

     “Okay. I will.” Kanaya noticed her fingers were now working right over top of her nub and the pain of overload she had experienced before was all but absent; there was nothing but a steady climb in pleasure that was both satisfying and yet spoke of more to come.

     Nepeta, however, knew what was to come and her legs began to shake as her body approached its climax. Her breath became panting and she arched her back off of the pillow as the first wave of orgasm struck. Despite her best efforts, she still called out as a spray of olive rushed from her seedflap and onto the waiting towel. When she slowly opened her eyes a few moments later, they rested upon Kanaya whose mouth was open in awe of what she’d just witnessed; her left leg and thigh were also now sporting a decidedly more olive shade as well. “Oh! I’m sorry...   I totally lost control there...”

     “No, it’s okay! It’s... it’s so... oh... OHHH” And with a wail and a splash of jade, Kanaya’s body followed suit, unleashing her wetness onto the towel but also in various directions as well as it splashed against her fingers.

     As Kanaya’s convulsions slowly ceased, Nepeta could feel her own burgeoning arousal flare again at the sight of her friend’s first orgasm. _Attagirl!_ She reached down to touch near her nub again; it was singing out to her even though she had just climaxed and she was initially wary to touch it but instead of finding the strange biofeedback that normally told her once was enough, the impulse to continue was there waiting. _Maybe we can do something about that but first I better see how she’s doing._ Nepeta wiped up as best she could with a corner of the towel and then crawled over to lie down beside the softly-breathing jadeblood. “Hey... how goes?”

     “oh... my...” came the whispered response.

     “You did wonderful, Kanaya! Way to go!”

     “I had... no idea...”

     Nepeta chuckled and hugged her friend. “Told ya! Are you okay?”

     Kanaya’s eyes blinked open. “Never better.”

     “You did so good there!” Nepeta gently helped Kanaya to a slightly elevated position and then used her feet to grab at her own pillow to bring it over for Maryam to lie back on. She kissed her on one of her long horns, which made Kanaya squeak again. “Still a bit sensitive?”

     “Mmhmm... big time. But thank you for showing me.” She reached for Nepeta and brought her in for a soft kiss on the lips. In the light from the windows, she could see that she left a streak of her jade lipstick on Nepeta’s lips. “Oops. Sorry about that.”

     “Don’t be. It’s all good. Congratulations on your first lesson. Do you feel up to a second?”

     Kanaya thought about it. “I’m not sure. I’m actually a bit sore down there. Is there anything I can do for you?”

     “Well, now that you’ve learned how to pleasure yourself, did you want to try to pleasure someone else? It’s a handy skill.” Nepeta took one of Kanaya’s hands in hers and gave it a slight squeeze.

     “Aren’t you funny; I had no idea the Olive Rogue was such a comedian.”

     Nepeta beamed. “Just one of the many superskills I have. But do you want to try?”

     “If it helps you, it’s the least I can do. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

     “All right.” Nepeta laid back on the pillows beside her friend, took the hand that was in hers and placed it softly upon her moist seedflap. “Get your fingers nice and wet first and then do it just like you were doing on your own: slow to start and working the whole thing in wide circles.”

     “Okay.” Kanaya did as Nepeta asked and listened to the sweet exhalations the oliveblood made when she did. _Almost like a purr,_ she thought to herself. “Is this satisfactory?”

     “Uh huh… Oh yes. Just start to make the circles a bit smaller now and just a little faster. Don’t worry if you run over my nub a bit; I’m already really warmed up!”

     Kanaya nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, letting her fingers feel their way across the soft, full lips beneath them. They occasionally encountered a firmer part, and each time she brushed up against it, Nepeta would make a sound that spoke of pure pleasure. _This is wonderful… to know I’m making someone else feel as amazing as what I was doing for myself did._ This kind of reinforcement made Kanaya a little bolder and she placed a finger on either side of that protrusion and just let her fingers shake very lightly.

     “Oh, Kan…” sighed Nepeta, who started to tip her hips back and forth slightly. _Oh Kan is right… I just wanted this to be friendly and now here we are. She’s so pawsome and yet… yet my heart needs another. How it wish it was him doing this… Maybe somenight it will be. Just pretend it’s him… Ohhhhh…_ “Ka… Ka… Ka…”

     “Shhhhhh…” Kanaya whispered into her sponge clot. “Just focus the way you told me to do.”

     Nepeta bit down on her lip as the sensations were coming stronger and faster and there was nothing she could do about it. _SO much more intense when someone else is doing it… Not long now… please take me over! Please!!!_ Her legs started to shake again, all but kicking of their own accord.

     Kanaya kept doing what she was doing as best she could as the lithe oliveblood thrashed and moaned. _I know what might help…_ She reached her right arm underneath Nepeta’s arched back as best she could and brought her fingers around to put firm pressure on the hard nipple they found. The wail that came from Leijon confirmed what Kanaya had hoped for. “Let go for me…” she whispered.

     Nepeta couldn’t form a coherent word but the sound that came from her a split second before the torrent of olive jetted forth all over Kanaya’s hand spoke of the raw wave of pleasure that possessed her in that moment of release. She shook in Kanaya’s embrace and finally came to rest with a solitary word that floated from her lips: “ _Karkat…”_

     “Oh… um… I see…” Kanaya stammered, trying to decide how best to react.

     “OH SHIT! Did I say what I think I just said?” Nepeta bolted upright and buried her face in her hands. “I’m… sorry,” she sobbed, “…didn’t want to tell anyone… or hurt your feelings.”

     “It’s okay,” Kanaya said and rested her right hand on Nepeta’s shoulder. “I’m not really offended. Just... really surprised is all.”

     Nepeta sniffled and moved to the edge of the bed. “Please don’t tell anyone? Please?”

     Kanaya sat up and joined her there. “You mean about Karkat, right?”

     “Yes.”

     “I won’t tell a soul. I promise.”

     “Thank you. I just… I know we said we should just think about the other people we want to be with while we were doing this but…” She paused and rested her head against Kanaya’s slim shoulder. “I really like you a lot and I didn’t mean to hurt you by saying it out loud.”

     “Really, it’s okay. I have to admit I’m having some pretty mixed feelings right now. It’s very strange. I feel like I should be… more than I am with you, but I feel in my pusher that I want to be with Vriska.” Kanaya exhaled and blinked away a tear of her own. “Should we have done this?”

     This time it was Nepeta who offered a comforting hand. “No regrets, Kanaya. None. I still think the world of you and that felt so pawsome you have no idea!”

     “Oh, I think I might have an idea now, thanks to you.”

     Nepeta chuckled and the smile was back on her face. “You’re quite welcome. But you know what? It was way more intense with someone else doing it for me. I’ve never experienced that before.”

     “Really? You sure seemed to know what you’re doing. I wish now that I’d asked you to do it for me, except that I’m still really sore.”

     “That’s okay; we still have a couple more days to go, right? If you feel like you want to, just say so.”

     “Would it be all right if we kept it mostly to cuddling?” Kanaya asked. “I enjoyed that immensely, but I need some time to recover physically and perhaps emotionally.”

     “Sure. But if you do want to, just say the word, okay?”

     “I will. Don’t worry.” Kanaya looked at her left hand, still sticky with Nepeta’s emissions. “I should probably wash up.”

     Nepeta nodded. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

     “No need to be sorry. It was really something to witness that! I’ve read about it so many times, with varying quality of description, but it doesn’t truly prepare one for experiencing it firsthand.”

     “Firsthand, eh? Nice choice of word, there.” Nepeta nuzzled Kanaya’s shoulder and the jadeblood returned the gesture by resting her head on Leijon’s.

     “Thank you, Nepeta. This was a wonderful experience.”

     “Glad you thought so. It was supurrb for me, too. Lots of firsts there.”

     “Indeed. At yet, you’re so confident, I can only marvel at how adroitly you handled it.” Nepeta laughed and looked away shyly. “Why look away now?” Kanaya asked.

     “Kanaya, it might surprise you to know something…” She leaned in and kissed Maryam for as long as she could and when their lips parted, she whispered, “You’re the first person I ever kissed.”

     If Kanaya’s eyebrows could have risen any higher, her hair would have obscured them. “Are you serious?”

     “Quite. You’re not going to make fun of me for it, are you?”

     “Oh no! Never in a million sweeps! It’s just that… well, I’ve even kissed Vriska – sloppy make-outs with her as she called it – and the way you, well, went for it made me think you knew exactly what you were doing!”

     “Nope!” Nepeta said cheerfully. “Just winging it. Doing what came natural is all.”

     Kanaya nodded. “Well, that certainly felt natural enough.”

     “Sure did. Thanks again, okay?”

     “It’s me who should be thanking you. And I have and will likely do so again before our time together is through.”

     “You’re the one who’s making me these incredible outfits! It was the very least I could do for you. But the thing is that it was just as much for me, too, so I’m in your debt still. If there’s anything I can ever do for you, just let me know, okay?”

     Kanaya patted her on the knee. “I will.” She stood up to head for the gaper room and realized what she’d done. “Oh no! Did I…”

     Nepeta laughed as she looked at the hand shaped olive stain on her knee. “No biggie. I’m sure it’ll wash right off.” She extended a finger and smeared as much of her wetness as she could onto it before slipping it into her mouth. “Mm. There’s another first.”

     “Oh! Wow… er… how, um, was it?”

     “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”

     Kanaya looked at the mess on her hand and thought carefully about it. “I suppose I could…”

     “It’s totally sweet,” Nepeta encouraged.

     A tentative finger made its way into Kanaya’s mouth. She waited a moment then exclaimed, “BLUH!”

     Nepeta’s eyes widened. “Really?”

     “No, I’m joking. It’s actually quite nice.”

     “Whew! I was worried for a moment! Vriska was right; you really are a smartnook, you know!”

     “I know. It’s an irrefutable fact.” Kanaya winked and headed for the gaper room.

     “Hey, Kanaya,” Nepeta called after her, “Vriskers was right about something else, too.”

     “Oh? And what’s that?”

     Leijon grinned a toothy grin. “You do have a choice ass. Thought you should know.”

     Nepeta could definitely see Kanaya blushing fiercely as she closed the door but the lovely smile was unmistakably present as well.

 


End file.
